On January 6, 1997, 36 U.S. Code § 124 went into effect, it reads:
"The President may issue each year a proclamation designating February 1 as National Freedom Day to commemorate the signing by Abraham Lincoln on February 1, 1865, of the joint resolution adopted by the Senate and the House of Representatives that proposed the 13th amendment to the Constitution."
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSnt4mJGJfGiGoRJ5Nz_rQYc80Oq7rbgp
Gregor MacGregor's fraud has been widely described as one of the most brazen in history.